about

'io: conloninpurple variations' are versions—dubs—of a composition for Trimpin's enormous installation/instrument 'Conloninpurple' at 'Impossible Brilliance: The Music of Conlon Nancarrow,' a festival held at Trinity Laban (UK) to celebrate the centenary of Nancarrow's birth. I've also adapted the composition for a 12-channel array and 4-channel live performance.

The pieces include marimba sounds that characterize Trimpin's instrument and a single sample (E-flat 0) from one of Nancarrow's player pianos.

Many of Nancarrow's compositions explore the superhuman musical capabilities of machines: his player pianos are programmed via hand-punched piano rolls to execute music too fast and too dense to be played by human hands.

My approach on these recordings was to explore some of the other superhuman capabilities offered by mechanized music: instead of exploiting inhuman tempo and density, I employed randomization of rhythmic and melodic patterns, extreme low frequencies, and transformations of tone and space.

Each variation is available in an individually numbered, handmade, limited edition.